Swivel-joint for electric wires.



No. 892,928. PATBNTED JULY 7, 1908, H. A. BLACK. SWIVEL JOINT FORELECTRIC WIRES.

APPLICATION FILED 00124, 1907 WITNESSES:-

wry r/ w (WK/j Q UNITED STATES PATENT OFEIOE.

HORATIO A. BLACK, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SAMUEL E.STARR, OE TOLEDO, OHIO.

SWIVEL-JOINT FOR ELECTRIC WIRES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 7, 1908.

Application filed October 24. 1907. Serial No. 398,897.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HORATIO A. BLACK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Swivel-Joints forElectric ires and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the in- Vention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figuresof reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

A familiar difficulty encountered in han- "dling' portable electricapparatus, such as lamps, telephones, and the like, is that the wireconductors become twisted and tangled, sometimes breaking the wires andfrequently interrupting the circuit.

My invention relates to and its object is to provide means forovercoming the difliculties and objections above indicated and, moreparticularly, to provide a swivel joint for electrical conductors whichwill permitthe wires to be twisted and turned without becoming tangled,without breaking, and without interruption of the circuit.

attain these objects by means of the devices and arrangement 01 partshereinalter described and shown, and illustrated in the single figure ofthe accompanying drawing which is a central longitudinal sectionalclevation of my device.

in the drawings, 1 and 3 are, respectively, sheet metal cylindricaltubes of such diani cter that one telescopes within the other with afit. which permits the two parts to rotate upon. their common axis. Theouter tube 1 inwardly flanged at each end, as at 3 and 4, the flangesoverlapping the ends of the inner tube to prevent the longitudinalseparation of the two tubes. ()no end of the inner tube is inwardlyflanged, as at 5, leaving an opening in the exposed end of t-hc tubewhich opening is covered by a flanged plate ol vulcanite or othersuitable insulating niatcrial, 6, which is secured to and rotates withthe inner tube. To the plate 6 are secured binding posts 7-7 for thcinleading and outleading wires 8- the former wire being secured to acopper disk 10, the latter being secured to a copper disk 11. Thesedisks or plates are held in fixed relation to the inner tube and areseparated by a disk of vulcanite or other suitable insulating material12,.

which is countersunk on opposite sides for the reception of the twocopper disks. The part 12 may be conveniently secured in place byforming in the internal tube 2-an inwardly projecting head 13 againstwhich one side of the margin of the )art 12 rests, the other side ofthis margin being clasped by an inwardly turned flange 14 at theextremity of the inner tube. The 0 iening left in the end of the outertube 1 by the in wardly turned flange 3 is covered and closed by aflanged disk of vulcanite or other suitable insulating material, 15,secured to and revoluble with the tube 1. To the art 15 are securedbinding posts 16 adapted tor connection with the inleading andoutleading wires. The inwardly projecting end of one of these wiresforms a brush 17 in contact with the copper disk 10 and the inwardlyprojecting end of the other conductor forms a brush 18 which contactswith thecopper disk 1 1, there being a central opening through the plate10 and the part 12 which permits the atter brush to contact with theinner copper plate 11 without touching the copperplate 10.

My device is assembled and operated as follows: The disk 12 with its twocopper plates fitted closely and securely in place is slipped into theopen end of the inner tube 2 against the rib 13 and the flange 14 isturned inwardly engaging the copper plates and their insulated supportsecurely in place. The conductors 8 and 9 are connected with their resiective copper lates 10 and 11. The insu ating disk and liinding posts 7are slipped over the projecting ends of the con ductors 8 and 9 and theplate 6 is secured in place upon the inwardly turned flange of the outerend 01'' the inner tube 2. The inner end of the inner tube is nowslipped into the open end of the outer tube against the flange and issecured in lace by turning inwardly the flange 4. Wllen the inner tubeis thus pushed into place the plates 10 and 11 come in contact with thebrushes l718. ,Now when the inleading and outleading wires are connectedwith the binding posts 7 and 16 the circuit is complete and the innerand outer tubes may be rotated relatively to each other without breakingthe circuit. when the wires are turned and twisted the Now two tubesaccoininodate themselves to these movements without en'tangling orforming kinks or breaks in the conductors.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1s,

1. A pair of telescoped tubes arranged for axial rotation one upontheother and secured against longitudinal separation, a pair of contactplates insulated from each other and from the tubes and rotatable withone of said tubes, a pair of brushes rotatable with the other tube andin contact with said plates, a

pair of wires connected atone end of the tubes with said plates, and apair of wires connected with the brushes at the other end of the tubes.

2. A swivel joint for electric wires comprising a pair of tubes onetelescoped within the-other and adapted to rotate axially relatively toeachother, meansljor preventing the longitudinal separation of saidtubes, a pair of contact plates secured within the inner tube andinsulated from the tubes and from each other, conductors connected withsaid contact plates and leading out through one end of the inner tube,brushes which con tact with said contact plates and which lead outthrough the opposite end of the .outer tube, and means for securinginleading and outleading conductors to the outer opposite ends of saidtwo tubes.

In testimony whereof I affix my in presence of two witnesses.

HORATIO A. BLACK. Witnesses:

H. N. HANSEN, ADA E. CAMERON.

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